a real trail to follow.
She shoved thoughts of crime scenes and murder out of her head as she pulled into John’s driveway. As she got out of the car, she smelled the odor of the brick charcoal grill coming from the backyard, and it evoked memories of when she and John had been married.
He’d always said he hated a gas grill and much preferred the smokiness of cooking out over hot coals. He’d built the barbecue pit himself and during the summers they’d often enjoyed time on the deck with some kind of meat filling the air with mouthwatering scents.
John answered her knock on the door. “Hey, you’re just in time. I was about to put some burgers on the grill. Max is out on the deck. Why don’t you let him stay to eat…? In fact, why don’t you join us? I’ve got plenty.”
“That’s the best offer I’ve had all day,” she replied with a smile.
She followed him through the living room and kitchen to the door that led out on the back deck. Max greeted her with a happy hug and then went back to standing at the barbecue pit, apparently taking his role as keeper of the tools very seriously.
“Dad, they’re starting to turn gray,” he said.
“Great, that means it’s time to put the hamburger on,” John replied.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Amberly asked.
“Sure, if you want to set the table out here, that would be great.”
For the next twenty minutes they fell into a comfortable routine. Amberly knew exactly which cabinet to go to for the bright green heavy-duty outdoors plates and utensils while John threw the burgers on the grill.
As the meat cooked, John got out potato salad and baked beans while Amberly grabbed the ketchup and mustard and a jar of dill pickles. Max added napkins to the table and then sat watching the burgers finish cooking.
Dinnertime was filled with good food and laughter as both Max and John were at their most charming and entertaining. Amberly felt the tension of the past couple of days slowly easing from her shoulders.
She ate like a truck driver who hadn’t seen food for months and laughed as John and Max teased her about her appetite. “Your dad is right. There’s nothing better than a charcoal-grilled burger,” she exclaimed as she squirted mustard on her second one.
“With lots of pickles,” Max agreed as he dug his fingers into the pickle jar. Amberly started to say something about manners but decided just to enjoy the moment of her son’s mischievous grin and her ex-husband’s laid-back attitude.
As they ate they talked about Max’s school activities, John’s painting and the art show he was planning to have next month.
John didn’t ask any questions about Amberly’s work, and she hadn’t expected him to. Even though she’d been an FBI agent when they’d first met and later married, it had always been something he’d insisted she keep private.
When they were finished eating, Max asked if he could play outside next door with a friend of his, and Amberly agreed so she could help John with the cleanup.
“That was nice, thanks,” she said as she gathered up the dirty plates to carry inside.
“It’s always nice when the three of us are together,” John replied.
Amberly knew it was a small dig, but she ignored it. “Yes, it is always nice,” she agreed. “It’s nice you and I have been able to remain on such friendly terms for Max’s sake.”
He was silent as he followed her into the kitchen, but it wasn’t a comfortable silence. Rather, it was one that usually preceded a new plea for reconciliation between the two of them.
She hoped that wasn’t the case this time. She was too tired to deal with old history, with the knowledge that she’d never been able to be what John wanted, what he needed in his life.
But it seemed whenever she and John were alone together, he couldn’t help himself; he turned the conversation to the possibility of reconciliation.
“You know I miss you,” he said as they put the dinner things away in the kitchen.
“John, you need to move on.” She stepped over to the sliding-glass door, where she could see Max in the yard next door playing catch with his friend. She turned back to her ex-husband. “Find a nice woman, a woman who makes you happy and will be a good addition to Max’s circle of family. You have to move on, John.”
“You haven’t,” he returned, his dark eyes holding